Material Recording, Scheduling, Dispatching, and Distributing Workers

How to become a Courier or Messenger

Official title: Couriers and Messengers

Also called: Courier, Delivery Driver, Driver, Lab Courier (Laboratory Courier), Mail Carrier, Mailroom Courier, Messenger, Security Messenger, Transporter, Vehicle Delivery Worker

Pick up and deliver messages, documents, packages, and other items between offices or departments within an establishment or directly to other business concerns, traveling by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, automobile, or public conveyance.

Main tasks

Deliver and pick up medical records, lab specimens, and medications to and from hospitals and other medical facilities.
Walk, ride bicycles, drive vehicles, or use public conveyances to reach destinations to deliver messages or materials.
Load vehicles with listed goods, ensuring goods are loaded correctly and taking precautions with hazardous goods.
Receive messages or materials to be delivered, and information on recipients, such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and delivery instructions, communicated via telephone, two-way radio, or in person.
Deliver messages and items, such as newspapers, documents, and packages, between establishment departments and to other establishments and private homes.
Record information, such as items received and delivered and recipients' responses to messages.
Unload and sort items collected along delivery routes.
Sort items to be delivered according to the delivery route.

How to become one

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Median pay: $39,200 a year The middle half earn $36,070 to $45,280.
About 228,900 people work in this job now, and about 247,100 are projected by 2035. (+8%)
People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Questions people ask

How much does a Courier or Messenger earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $39,200 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $36,070 to $45,280.

Is a Courier or Messenger a growing career in the US?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 8% by 2035, from about 228,900 to about 247,100 people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Courier or Messenger?

Usually not. Only 18% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a Courier or Messenger?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.